Emotional Intelligence

The reason we create both good and bad habits – such as learning to notice the positive things in our lives or getting stuck thinking about a frustrating incident – can be explained by Hebb’s law and the quantum Zeno effect. Hebb’s law posits that when particular brain areas are repeatedly activated by a certain behavior, like breathing deeply when we are upset, a circuit is formed, which we reinforce each time we repeat a similar behavior.

The quantum Zeno effect occurs when we, by focusing our attention, hold the activated brain areas in place long enough so that the rewiring can happen. This doesn't mean ignoring dangerous or uncomfortable situations in favor of positive thinking, but it does point to the power of training our brains to notice and hold the positive aspects of any situation.